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With the mobile market growing faster than ever, social media has become the dominant activity that mobile devices are used for. 88% of mobile digital time is spent on social media apps, with instant messaging and social apps like Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat. 24 million Canadians visited at least one social networking site in 2013 -- accounting for 69% of the nation’s population. More than 40% of millennials use Facebook everyday.

As a consumer, do you ever really visit the website of a shopping mall, grocery store, pharmacy, or hospital, unless you happen to be looking for one specifically crucial piece of information, like a map? Not really. An expensive website will not drive people to your mall. If there is no e-commerce involved and no traffic goes to these websites, why is so much of your digital marketing strategy budget being spent on them?

Stores aren’t typically the first place your think of when planning where to socialize, but retail company Ardene is changing that. According to strategy, the retailer recently opened a new location in Carrefour du Nord, a mall in Saint-Jérôme, Quebec, that “embraces the gen Z lifestyle.” With plans to upgrade their in-store experience, Ardene is dedicating areas of their stores to “hanging out” -- spaces are set up to charge phones and take photos for social media posts.

The biggest problem marketers have is finding a way to reach their entire audience. What could possibly unite every consumer who walks by a billboard, or scrolls through social media? Well, everyone has a birthday. However, there’s an inevitable fault that presents itself once you take a closer look. Successful web-based ads are usually only successful because they target people who are already your customers.